Category Archives: 24. Strategies for Effective Depression

Chapter 24 – Strategies for Effective Depression

Attempting to shed light on the subject of depression, in a way that is radically different from the popular conception that depression is to be seen as an unwanted disease, can be a proverbial “can of worms.” There are so many forces at play, notwithstanding the undeniable profits that are to be made by categorizing depression as a disease. This book will be useful to those who truly want to work with their personal interactions with life and who are willing to work through and understand their depression, anxiety, anger and other negative or self-destructive states and behaviours and see them for what they really are, self-preserving mechanisms that are rooted in our nature . Understanding these parts of ourselves better will allow us to make new choices that serve us rather than harm us in the long run.

Except in extreme rare cases, slowing down the mind’s natural healing response with medication has never been proven to address the actual root causes of the symptoms. This is not to say that we should collectively discard all our medications. There are clear indications that temporary relief from our anxieties and depression symptoms can be beneficial and restorative to our physical health. Unfortunately, it seems that this approach is being adopted as a long term strategy and as a way to address our mental health. Is this for lack of alternatives or lack of foresight? Or is there simply no cure-all for dysphoria other than short-term escape? Maybe it’s too complicated to devise steps that would work in most non life-threatening cases? Or is it simply that these steps would undermine the profitability of prescription medication? Personally, I am still pondering this very question. Which leads me to the next question, how can we effectively assist the healing response of the mind?

Reduce Input

The mind has a tendency to start the self-healing process without much assistance from its owner. The very first response that can clearly be noticed is a tendency to segregate oneself from others. Isolation behaviours include an unwillingness to socialize, increased irritability and irrational anger as ways to alienate oneself from others. Continue reading →